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10 MCP Servers Every Claude User Should Install

James Swierczewski

·

April 17, 2026

What Makes a Great MCP Server?

The best MCP servers share a few qualities: they’re stable and actively maintained, they unlock genuinely useful capabilities, and the setup doesn’t require a computer science degree. All 10 servers on this list meet those criteria.

1. Filesystem Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem

The filesystem server lets Claude read (and optionally write) files on your computer. It’s the foundation of personal AI — Claude can read your notes, analyze documents, and help you work with local files.

Best use case: Ask Claude to analyze all the text files in a project folder, search through your personal notes, or read and summarize a large document you’ve downloaded.

Setup tip: Only grant access to specific folders, not your entire drive. Create a dedicated folder like /Users/yourname/Claude-Files for files you want Claude to access.

2. Brave Search Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search

This gives Claude real-time web search capabilities. Claude’s training data has a cutoff date — Brave Search fills that gap with current information. Get a free API key at api.search.brave.com.

Best use case: Ask Claude to research current topics, find recent news, or look up information that may have changed since its training cutoff.

3. Notion Server

Package: @notionhq/notion-mcp-server

Connect your Notion workspace to Claude and unlock your second brain. As detailed in our Notion MCP guide, this lets you search notes, create pages, and query databases conversationally.

Best use case: “Search my Notion for everything related to [topic] and give me a summary” — turns Notion into a true AI-powered knowledge base.

4. GitHub Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

For developers and non-developers alike who use GitHub, this server lets Claude search repositories, read code files, examine issues, and understand pull requests. It’s also useful for non-developers who want to navigate open-source projects.

Best use case: “Find the setup instructions in this GitHub repository” or “What issues are currently open in my project?”

5. Slack Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-slack

Bring your team communications into Claude’s context. As we cover in MCP for Slack, this enables conversation summaries, message search, and even AI-assisted drafting.

Best use case: “Summarize all messages in #project-alpha from this week and list any blockers that came up.”

6. Google Drive Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-gdrive

Connect your Drive files for search and analysis. Covered in detail in MCP for Google Drive, this turns your entire Drive into a queryable knowledge base.

Best use case: “Find the Q4 report in my Drive and summarize the key financial metrics.”

7. Puppeteer / Browser Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer

This gives Claude the ability to browse the web — not just search it, but actually navigate pages, click links, and extract content from complex sites. It uses a headless browser (Puppeteer) that runs on your computer.

Best use case: “Go to [competitor’s website] and extract all their pricing plan details” or “Read this article and summarize it” when the article is behind a structure that a simple search can’t capture.

8. PostgreSQL / SQLite Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-postgres or @modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite

If you work with databases, this is a game-changer. Claude can write SQL queries, execute them, and interpret the results in plain English. You ask a business question; Claude queries the database and gives you the answer.

Best use case: “How many customers signed up last month?” — Claude writes the SQL, runs it against your database, and gives you the number with context.

9. Memory / Sequential Thinking Server

Package: @modelcontextprotocol/server-memory

This server gives Claude a persistent memory store — it can save facts and context between conversations. By default, Claude doesn’t remember anything between sessions. With this server, you can build a personal knowledge graph that Claude adds to and references over time.

Best use case: Tell Claude important context about your life, work, and preferences. It stores them. In future conversations, Claude can reference this context without you having to repeat yourself.

10. Make.com MCP Toolbox

Package: @makehq/mcp-toolbox

Connect Claude to your Make.com automations and unlock 2,000+ apps. This is the most powerful server on the list. As we cover in Make.com MCP Toolbox guide, it turns Claude from a smart assistant into a true agentic AI that can take actions in the real world.

Best use case: “Add this contact to my CRM and send them a welcome email” — Claude triggers a Make.com scenario that handles both actions across two different apps.

Your Starter Config

Here’s a minimal Claude Desktop config that gets you started with the top four servers:

{"mcpServers": {"filesystem": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/Users/yourname/Documents"]}, "brave-search": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-brave-search"], "env": {"BRAVE_API_KEY": "your_key"}}, "memory": {"command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-memory"]}}}

How to Choose What to Install

Don’t try to install all 10 at once. Start with:

1. Filesystem (always useful, no API key needed)
2. Brave Search (makes Claude dramatically more useful for research)
3. One tool you use every day — Notion, Slack, or Google Drive

Add more as you need them. Each server takes a few minutes to set up, and the productivity gains compound quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all of these servers official Anthropic products?

Some are (those in the @modelcontextprotocol namespace), and some are official products from the tool providers (like @notionhq/notion-mcp-server). All the servers on this list are well-maintained and trustworthy.

Will running many MCP servers slow down my computer?

MCP servers are lightweight processes. Running 5-10 of them simultaneously has minimal impact on most modern computers. They’re designed to be efficient.

How do I keep MCP servers updated?

Most servers installed via npx automatically use the latest version when you restart Claude Desktop (npx downloads fresh versions by default). For servers installed globally, run npm update -g [package-name] periodically.

What if a server stops working after an update?

This is rare but can happen when the MCP protocol evolves. Check the server’s GitHub repository for any announcements. Usually a simple npm update fixes the issue.

Where can I find more MCP servers beyond this list?

The official MCP server registry is at modelcontextprotocol.io/servers. The community also maintains lists on GitHub. New servers are being published every week as the ecosystem grows.

Related: Claude’s Interfaces Explained | What Is MCP? | MCP Setup Guide | Claude Desktop | MCP for Notion | MCP for Slack

Sources

This article draws on official documentation, product pages, and industry reporting. Specific sources are linked inline throughout the text.

Last reviewed: May 2026

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